Amex, Discover Tie for Lead in Customer Satisfaction

The 2014 Credit Card Customer Satisfaction survey, conducted annually since 2007 by J.D. Power, finds that American Express and Discover share the top score of 819 out of a possible 1,000 points. Chase ranks third with a score of 789. The industry average is 778.

“American Express and Discover provide great personal service when customers call in and also make it easy for customers to manage their accounts online as well as by using mobile apps,” Jim Miller, J.D. Power senior director of banking services, said in a statement, in an article in the Chicago Tribune.

Discover has finished a close second to Amex in previous studies. Clearly, the company is executing on the service-based strategy featured in its advertising campaigns.

Satisfaction scores have also been consistently improving across the industry for several years. Part of the improvement is attributable to the CARD Act of 2009 which has reduced the incidence of negative consumer experiences such as unexpected fees and account re-pricing, and has encouraged issuers to make credit card terms and conditions more readable. At the same time, the economic recovery has produced fewer delinquencies, account closures, and often unfriendly collection calls. CFPB enforcement actions have also improved of many credit card issuers are marketing credit card add-on products, which had also been of great frustration to some consumers.